BY NEIL HONEYMAN
WHEN there are those who wish to make changes to an established position, it is helpful if they would give reasons for their proposed changes. The draft revised Constitution, put forward by former chief justice Reynato Puno, has not had much support from those who agree with him.
We are not yet having the robust national conversation that we would expect from an alleged vibrant democracy.
By international standards, the 1987 Constitution embodies a very high degree of centralization inherent in our government structure. Article X entitled “Local Government” does, however, provide for a degree of local autonomy.
The 1987 Constitution also specifies autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and in the Cordilleras (Article X Sections 15 to 21).
Article X Sections 1 to 14 outlines the nature of local government that we have at the moment. In particular, Article X Section 6 says “Local Government units shall have a just share, as determined by law, in the national taxes which shall be automatically released to them.”
Article XII Section 1 says: “The goals of the national economy are a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth… as the key to raising the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged.” It is not unfair to say that successive governments since 1987 have been unsuccessful in achieving these goals.
Puno’s draft Article III – Bill of Rights has section on Social and Economic Rights. This says that every person has a right to adequate food; universal and comprehensive healthcare; complete, quality education; adequate and decent housing, and livelihood and employment opportunity.
What happens when these “rights” are not met?
A Constitution should be realistic.
It is not clear that Puno’s draft gives any real additional local decision-making authority. It is not a genuinely federalist constitution. What Puno’s draft does is to provide an additional layer of government, which would be very expensive, without the autonomy implicit in a federalist structure. It is difficult to resist the assertion that implementing the changes recommended in the Puno draft would be expensive, thereby requiring additional taxation. This is because government would still be highly centralized by with an additional layer of officials. Decision-making would be unwieldy, slower, and more susceptible to corruption.
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“Every country has its own constitution; ours is absolution moderated by assassination.” – an anonymous Russian quoted in “Politicial Sketches of the State of Europe, 1817-1867”/PN
